Do Eco-Friendly Laundry Detergents Work? True Facts!

Laundry is an essential part of every household cleaning. When one mentions laundry detergent, the image of synthetic detergent liquids filled in big colorful bottles comes to our mind. But do you know that the current form of laundry liquid only dates back to 100 years!

Before that our grandparents were using locally sourced plant materials for keeping their linen fresh. They were safer for the environment, our ecosystem, and general health.

There is enough awareness presently on the harmful effects of regular commercially available detergents. But still many are not comfortable making the sustainable switch. This article addresses the concern on the effectiveness of eco-friendly laundry options and proves why you need to make the change now!

Do Eco Friendly Laundry detergents Work?

Plant-based eco-friendly detergents are as effective in removing stains as their synthetic counterpart. The added bonus is that these are less toxic for health and not harmful to the environment.

Let us deep-dive into the step-by-step cleaning process.

How Does Laundry Detergent Break Down Stains?

Lets us first understand how does a detergent work. A detergent basically connects with water and oil at the same time.

When dirt gets attached to the oil molecules and oily surfaces of our clothes, water alone can not get them out. Water and oil go separately and can not connect with each other.

Surfactants have the unique ability to connect with water and oil at the same time. The cleaning products contain surfactant that reduces the surface tension of water. It also reduces the interfacial tension between oil and water.

When Surfactants come in contact with the outer layer of the oil, it connects with it and helps it break away from the clothing. It then washes away with the water, leaving the clothes cleaner.

Surfactants can be obtained from two sources – natural and synthetic.

What Are Eco Friendly Detergents Made Of?

Green detergents or bio-based surfactants are obtained made from plant-based sources. On the other hand, conventional detergents are made from petrochemical-based products.

Few known sources of natural detergents are plants like Soapbark, Soapwort, Soapnut, Soapberry, etc. Different parts of these plants like root, leaf, fruit, bark, and flower, etc are rich in cleaning or foaming agent saponin.

Plants are renewable whereas petroleum is a nonrenewable source. Thus the green detergents are bio-degradable and do not pollute the environment or cause any harm.

How Do They Work?

Green cleaning products tend to be a bit milder comparatively. The absence of harsh chemical actually increase the life of the clothes and causes less microfibre pollution. The effectiveness is more than sufficient to get normal dirt and grimes route of the clothes.

However, if you have a pet, kids at home, or planning to get a particularly tough stain out, you need to choose the detergent accordingly. Thankfully there are plenty of available options. One needs to find one based on his or her requirement.

Are eco friendly detergents safe to use?

The green detergents are made from natural materials derived from plants. Since they do not contain any harmful chemicals, they are safer for health and better for the environment. But be careful and select a truly eco-friendly option.

To be truly eco-friendly one needs to go back to how our grandmothers did their laundry. There are definitely quite a few things to learn from.

However, for many, it might not be a practical solution. So choosing the best available eco-friendly option you can find works as well!

How to Choose The Best Suitable Eco Friendly Detergent?

First thing first –Not everything marked as green or eco-friendly are truly so. You need to read the labels and consider various other factors.

Also as a general rule of thumb, just avoid anything claiming to have extra benefits like scented, extra brightness, fabric softeners, etc. Anything with frills only has added harmful chemicals. Only the simplest of things work. Below we have listed a few steps on how you can still get the extras if you need them.

Here are the things to consider before making the sustainable switch.

Ingredients

Unfortunately, the detergent makers are not mandated by law to list the ingredients on the packaging. However, this list still can be found on the manufacturers’ websites.

Here is a list of ingredients you need to look for. Presence of any of these and you can be sure that the detergent is anything but eco-friendly.

1,4-Dioxane
Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLS)
Bleach
Formaldehyde
Phosphates
Nonylphenol Ethoxylate
Benzene
Synthetic fragrances

Packaging

Consider the packaging in which your detergents arrive. Powders, strips etc can arrive in biodegradable cardboard packaging. Plastic bottles are definitely a setback toward sustainable earth. You can mitigate some effects by 100% recycling or going for a refillable option.

Type

You can choose from any of the available types. It is good to know the positives and negatives of each one.

Powder: It is easier to ship with a lesser carbon footprint. Also, the packaging can be biodegradable. However, this may not be as effective in cold water. Also, a recent study found that powder ingredients release more microfibre than liquid counterparts, with each wash cycle. You can of course mitigate this by using cotton, natural fabrics. Or using a guppy bag.

Liquid: Unfortunately the transportation and packaging of it stop this from being a truly eco-friendly option. If you have to buy liquids, go for more concentrated ones and use just the right amount.

Pods, Strips: Pods, strips, or tablets are a good choice. They are easier to transport, store. The packaging can be biodegradable, thus making it completely eco-friendly.

Allergy Information:

Natural detergents usually do not cause any allergic reaction. In case you get rashes or allergies, just choose a hypoallergenic labeled one.

Why you should Stop using regular detergent?

Phosphate: Most detergents contain phosphate. This chemical along with washed laundry water reaches neighboring water sources like lakes and water. It promotes the excessive growth of algae, which in turn causes harm to marine life like fishes, bacteria, etc.

Thus bio-balance is disturbed. Phosphate is banned in laundry detergents in the US, EU. However, they are still in rampant use in other countries.

Petrochemical source: Conventional detergents are derived from a petrochemical source which is obtained through mining. They are nonrenewable, pollute environments, and can never be considered sustainable and eco-friendly.

Effect on health: Most regular detergents are known to contain 1,4-Dioxane. It is a potential human carcinogen. Clothes washes in these types of detergents still have traces of it left and are harmful to health.

How to start an environment friendly laundry routine?

Here are a few things you can do to make your laundry routine environment friendly

Wash clothes less often

Most clothes can be worn several times unless they are stinky or stained. Just wash clothes only when needed. This also increases the lifespan of your clothes and makes them look less worn out. Also, consider the harmful effect of washing clothes on our environment.

Use less detergent

Only use the required quantity. Most people tend to use more detergent than needed. Test out a reduced quantity and see clothes coming out as cleaner.

Coldwater wash

Hot water consumes more energy. And as opposed to popular sentiments, hot water is not known to have any particular benefits. Coldwater is better for most types of garments. And is equally effective in cleaning.

The washing machine does not Sanitize

If you are just washing to sanitize your clothes, use the sanitize cycle in the dryer instead. The water in the wash cycle is not hot enough to kill germs

Choose Air dry

Where ever possible, choose to air dry your clothes. The dryer is a bigger energy sucker and causes more wear and to clothes. You are wasting more energy and piling up the landfill faster.

Ditch the chlorine bleach

If you need to remove the stain, pre-treat the stain with a mix of washing, soda, lime, etc. There are a number of ways in which stains can be removed naturally[link].

Do not use fabric softener

You can get the same effect by filling your fabric softener compartment with vinegar. Don’t worry, there won’t be any vinegar smell in clothes. Also consider these natural fabric softeners, that are equally convenient to use.

DIY laundry detergent options

Where ever possibly choose to make your own laundry detergent[link].